Creating a garden that welcomes both hummingbirds and butterflies requires understanding their distinct biological needs as they seek nectar. While both pollinators are attracted to vibrant colors and sweet rewards, the architecture of the flowers they prefer often differs significantly. Designing a dual-pollinator space involves selecting plants that bridge these differences. The goal is to establish a continuously available food source and a supportive habitat that encourages them to linger and thrive.
Distinct Preferences of Hummingbirds and Butterflies
Hummingbirds possess a long, slender bill and tongue adapted for probing deep into flowers while hovering. This specialized feeding style leads them to favor long, tubular blossoms that hold a substantial volume of nectar at the base. They are highly visual feeders, often attracted to colors like red, orange, and pink. Since they do not rely on a sense of smell, their preferred flowers are frequently fragrance-free.
Butterflies use a flexible, coiled proboscis to sip nectar and cannot hover indefinitely like hummingbirds. They require a flat, broad surface to land while feeding, preferring clustered flower heads or blooms with a simple, open structure. Their color vision includes the ultraviolet spectrum, making them highly responsive to a wide range of bright colors, including purple, yellow, and white. Butterfly-friendly flowers often have shorter, less restrictive tubes, allowing easier access to the nectar source.
Specific Flowers That Attract Both
Finding plants that meet the tubular requirement for hummingbirds and the landing platform requirement for butterflies is the key to dual-pollinator gardening. Bee Balm (Monarda) is an excellent example, featuring dense clusters of tubular flowers that are a favorite nectar source for hummingbirds. The overall structure of the flower head also provides a sturdy surface where butterflies can easily perch to feed.
Salvia (Sage) is another highly effective plant, offering numerous varieties with long, nectar-rich tubes that hummingbirds actively seek out. Many salvias produce blooms in purple and red hues, which appeal to both species. The flower spikes present multiple feeding opportunities for butterflies.
Lantana is a powerhouse, featuring small, tightly packed florets that form a wide, flat cluster. These clusters serve as an ideal landing pad for butterflies. The individual, tiny tubes within the cluster still hold accessible nectar for hummingbirds.
The common Zinnia is favored for its wide, daisy-like bloom shapes, offering an open landing area, particularly in single-petal varieties. Although the flower is not strictly tubular, the accessible nectar in the center florets is easily reached by both the butterfly’s proboscis and the hummingbird’s tongue. Petunia varieties with tubular shapes attract hummingbirds, and the wide opening provides enough surface for a butterfly to land and reach the nectar. Selecting single-flowered varieties of these plants is more beneficial, as the nectar in double-flowered types is often too difficult for pollinators to access.
Creating a Successful Habitat Beyond the Bloom
A successful pollinator garden must support the entire lifecycle of the butterfly, extending beyond the adult’s need for nectar. Female butterflies must lay their eggs on specific host plants, which serve as the only food source for the resulting caterpillars. Without host plants like milkweed for Monarchs or parsley for Swallowtails, the butterflies will not stay to reproduce.
For maximum visual attraction, plant flowers in large groupings, creating blocks of color at least three feet wide. These large masses are easier for hummingbirds and butterflies to spot from a distance than scattered individual plants. Providing a water source is also important, but butterflies cannot drink from open water. Instead, they need a “muddle,” which is a shallow area of moist soil, sand, or compost where they can extract water and dissolved minerals.
Butterflies are cold-blooded and require a warm body temperature to fly, so they need basking sites in sunny locations. Placing dark, flat stones in the garden provides a surface for them to rest and absorb heat before feeding and egg-laying. The use of insecticides must be completely avoided, as these chemicals do not distinguish between harmful pests and beneficial insects. They often kill the very creatures the gardener is trying to attract, including butterfly larvae.